New Delhi, Dec. 31 -- On 2 June 2020, a Voyager aircraft flew return flights from RAF Brize Norton, England, to Mount Pleasant Airfield, the Falkland Islands, breaking the existing 30- year-old record on each journey, with the return journey to the UK of 6,948 miles taking a mere 13 hours and 22 minutes. The flights were carried out non-stop, with no inflight refuelling - a far cry from the 1952 flight! In 1952, the Falkland Islands Company commissioned Aquila Airways to conduct the first airmail survey and expedition flight - Aquila were already used to long-range flights in their small retinue of flying boats, having made their name during the Berlin Airlift.
The aircraft they chose for this epic journey was a Short Sunderland III, G-AG...